. >>> secretary of state john kerry is in europe to talk about mideast peace. but he finds himself having to keep peace with our allies. it is the latest backlash from revelations of u.s. surveillance programs by the national security agency. here is abc news reporter chuck sievertson. >> a german newspaper said president obama learned in 2010 that the national security agency was eavesdropping on the cell phone of the german chancellor and the paper says mr. obama ordered the program be escalated. in a written statement on sunday the nsa denied president obama had such knowledge. it is the latest bomb shell allegation in the document dump from edward snowden. there were reports that the u.s. was tapping merkel's phone and she called talking about a grave breech of trust. >> the president assured the chancellor that the united states is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor. >> still, the white house did not deny previous spying. another german publication is reporting that the u.s. embassy in berlin houses secret lis secret l